Love's Awakening
by megmeg999
Summary: Is in place of the original The Awakening. Mostly in Derek's POV but some of the rest of them to explain the new scenes. Rated T just in case. Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1:Worry

**I felt like taking a step away from Morganville. So now that I have an opportunity, I'm traveling to Buffalo, to see my friend Claire. What's in store there I can't be sure. But from what she always tells me, it's very…active. (:**

_Takes places after The Summoning. Kinda like my rewrite of The Awakening, but from Derek's POV mostly. Some Chloe to make up for the new scenes. It won't be accurate at all. But I'll do my best to be as close to the real timeline. As far as I can remember. But it's just a fanfiction and what I think Derek was thinking at the time…and what I wish would have happened. Read and review. I'd love to hear your idea on this fanfiction. Thanks! _

Derek's POV: The Awakening.

Simon sat beside me in the alley, pestering me like you wouldn't believe. I couldn't blame him for being worried like this, but still, it was getting absolutely ridiculous. Sure, Chloe and Rae haven't meet up with us yet, sure it's been over a day, but I mean, come on! They're not little girls. They can take care of themselves.

"This isn't smart. We need to go look for them. The Lyle house people are gone. We should go get them before they get hurt! Or killed! Oh, killed would be very bad. Very, very bad…"

I glared at Simon. "Dude, do you have bionic hearing? No, I do. The people after us aren't gone. They're three blocks over, but they can easily catch up and find us. No, we stay put. Chloe knows where the meet up location is, we'll look at dawn."

"Why wait that long?"

"Because it's the safest time. It's not too dark, so we're not stumbling to find our way. And it's not so bright that we stick out like sore thumbs to those guys."

Slowly, everything started clicking in his head, word by word. "Oh, yeah I guess that makes sense. I'm just worried about them. Those jackasses shot at you and Chloe."

I waved it off absentmindedly, trying to listen in again as to their exact location, or pick up a familiar scent. Nothing. Not Chloe's or anyone from Lyle house. Ugh, it was going to be a long wait…

Finally, dawn approached and we headed out. We managed to find and get to the meet up spot without being caught or spotted at all. Chloe wasn't here from what I could smell. But…something in the air, something different. "She's been here recently. Been awhile but still."

Simon's head snapped up and he stared at me. "How long ago?"

"Do I look like a dog?" he fought the urge to smile. "Don't answer that. I don't know how long ago. I just know it hasn't been within the past hour. Last night perhaps? Hard to tell."

"Where do you think she went?"

I shrugged. "Maybe to find another spot and hide. I don't smell anyone else. So I doubt that they were chased away. Maybe they went to get breakfast."

Than something clicked in my head. Simon's diabetes. He was in need of taking his insulin soon. But he'd need food. "Simon, let's go. We can't stay here."

He stared at me, like I'd spoken in another language. "Are you kidding? What if they come back?"

I pushed him in the direction of the exit. "You need breakfast, and to take your insulin. Let's go. We'll come back. They are smart enough to find their way back and hide until we find them."

He sighed and nodded, letting me lead him to some sort of 24 hour restaurant. I'm starting to wonder if splitting up was a good idea…


	2. Chapter 2:Leaving Clues

Derek's POV:

It was around eight when we returned back to the meet up place at the factory. No sign of Claire or Rae again. And no recent scents. I sighed and turned to Simon. "They're not here."

He looked disappointed. "Dammit."

Something clicked in his head and he snapped. "I have an idea."

He went into his backpack and grabbed his art back up art pad. He lost everything he had when he was running. Damn backpack slipped off his shoulder and fell when he was jumping the fence. I felt bad for him. His favorite drawings and everything were gone, and that was what meant the most to him when it came to material possessions. I felt really bad about him losing it so this morning I spend ten bucks or so and let him get cheap, but usable, art supplies.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he settled himself beside a small crate.

He looked up and smiled. "I'm writing a note." And he began working.

I snatched the pad away. "Are you insane? What if someone finds it? What if Mrs. Enright finds it?"

He glared and snatched it back. "Will you relax? I'm not stupid. I am not writing a _literal_ note." I gave him a "what the hell" look and he just started drawing. "Watch and see."

I kept look out, listening for anyone coming while he did his artistic magic. It didn't take him more than twenty minutes to finally call "Done!" to me.

I walked over and looked over his shoulder and the finished work. It was a picture of a ghost in the top left corner, _Chloe. _In the middle of the page was a picture of the Terminator, one of his favorite movies. _I'll be back._ And his craft signature was a lightning bolt and fog, to symbolize his magic and "awesome" fog producing abilities.**(is it just me or does that sound dirty?)** _Simon._ I looked over the note again, playing it in my head. It worked. I had to admit. But only someone who knew Simon's art would understand it, and Chloe did. So it was safe.

I nodded. "Not bad."

He smirked. "Not bad? This is epic, and very sneak."

I laughed. "Don't get bigheaded. Hide the note…wait." I took the pencil and the pad and wrote a small _10am_ in the middle, beside Mr. Schwarzenegger and handed it back to Simon.

"Hey! You ruined the masterpiece."

I rolled my eyes. "She has to know when we're coming." He gave look, one that said he was kinda annoyed that he hadn't thought of it. "Hide it so we can go."

He stood up and looked around for a good spot. There were some crates with graffiti not too far off in the shadows. He ran over and moved a few, hiding the note underneath. He put a blank one over it and started drawing. It was a kid with a black paw print on his face. His way of turning something as irritating as being a werewolf and make it kinda cool was actually quite interesting. He seem to get more out of my being a werewolf than I did. To me, it was the most pain in the ass thing in the world. And I hadn't actually _had_ a real transformation yet.

He finished the last of the details and turned, grabbing his backpack. "Done. Let's go."

And we left, praying that Chloe was clever enough to take his clues, however blatant they were, and be able to interpret them.


	3. Chapter 3:Finding Safety

Derek's POV:

It was about nine thirty when Simon and I decided to head back to the warehouse and find Chloe and Rae. Hopefully they saw the note by now. So they should be there. He walked in silence beside me, worry filling the air between us. I won't lie. I was quite worried about Chloe. Yes, I knew very well that she was tough when she wanted to be. But let's face it, she's no punk or street thug. She can't handle herself with everything. I need to be honest; I was going just as insane with worry about Chloe as Simon was. But I was a lot better at hiding it. No need to show him all that. Last thing he needs to worry Simon into thinking it was worse than it was because of my worrying as well. Which was a rare thing I let show.

I had him hide in an alley not too far from the meet up spot while I went in and tried to find her. He managed to stay put when I returned, shaking my head. "Nothing. No recent scents at all. The note is still there too."

He swore under his breath and started walking. "Well, we should take advantage of this situation and find a good and legitimate hiding stop, one with, you know, a roof?"

I nodded in agreement. A hiding stop that was covered and at least a bit warm, well, I wouldn't complain about that. That's for sure. I stiffed around, looking for nearby buildings that were abandoned for the most part. It was a good mile or so before we managed to find one. A small building. Looked almost like an abandoned house. All boarded up but a crack in the door, like someone had broken in to use it for similar purposes to ours. We slid in through the small space and walked into the building. It was fairly dark, with lots of crates, like it was used as a storage facility now. But they were all dusty, like they hadn't been touched in years. It was perfect.

A strange scent blew past my nose from the small current of breeze coming through. A smell that tickled my nose and made it crinkle in distaste. Rotting corpses. Animal corpses at least, a, what I guess to be, rat corpse. At least one or two. Maybe more. Creepy that I can smell what sort of animal is dead right? Yeah, I think so too. An unfortunate trick I managed to pick up when my werewolf sense first kicked in, and they've only gotten stronger.

There was something else in here, a corpse. A human corpse. Dead for quite a while. I didn't see it as a problem, not unless the girls were scared. But they had Simon to play the protective hero against the big bad dead body. I think they'll be fine.

My concern was the corpses of the rats. Would Chloe be fine with being around a bunch of dead animals? Constantly thinking about their little bodies crawling all over her in her sleep? The sound of their little claws on the concrete floor… ooh, maybe it was a bad idea. "There's animal corpses here. Think Chloe will have a problem?"

Simon looked around, utterly disgusted. "Ew. I think I'll be the one with the problem."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm serious. Think Chloe will be able to handle it? They're…fairly recent. Well some of them are."

He shrugged, still looking disturbed a bit. "It's nasty, but I think she'll be able to handle it. She's a tough girl."

"Yeah, I remember. So, we'll stay here. We'll go back one more room to be sure that anyone passing on the street can't see any of the lights or hear our talking."

He nodded and followed me to a back room. There were more crates, but no couches or anything. All the comfortable furniture was gone long ago, and in its place was more crates, but at least we had seats. I set our bags in the corner and we grabbed the wallet before heading to a convenient store a block or two down the road.

There, we picked up some cheap but usable blankets and snacks to get us by. I was extra sure to pick up some fruit for Simon's diabetes. And lights, I nearly walked out without buying lanterns or flashlights. We went back to the safe house we had and just rested until it was dark.

"Damn, I'm an idiot." I said, as I watched the light slowly fade from the cracks between the boards on the windows. "I should have put ten p.m as well as a.m. I'll go and see if they're there tonight too."

"That's true. Well, maybe they're thinking like you. We'll check tonight and see if they came if not then we'll wait until morning. But they'll have to be there soon. Hopefully…"

I nodded in agreement and waited for dark, hoping that Chloe would be there soon. Because now I was actually getting a bit restless, wondering if she and Rae were safe or kidnapped or worse…


	4. Chapter 4:Reunited

Derek's POV:

At nine forty five, I found an alley not too far from where we'd been yesterday. I pointed directly to the ground between us. "Stay here, Simon."

He gave me a military solute, looking absolutely serious. "Yes, sir, wolf man sir."

I wasn't touching that one. I just rolled my eyes and walked toward the factory, being careful to stay concealed in the shadows. A few yards from the entrance of the factory, I smiled at a familiar smell…Chloe. But, something else, it wasn't right. I didn't smell Rae, I smelled someone else. But still familiar. And then it hit me…Tori. Shit. If she's out there with her team of crack pot docs than Chloe is in trouble. And both trails were recent.

I looked around and saw that very familiar face. Chloe…she was hiding behind a big ugly shed by the main gate, crouched down and hiding. She looked like she was looking for someone. Probably us. I also saw a SUV driving in the opposite direction, driving away from her. But it was going slow, patrolling. When I felt it was safely out of sight, I crept up behind her and wrapped my around her waist, pulling her father back, and my hand clearly clamp over her mouth incase she was a screamer.

Before she had time to even think about screaming though I whispered it was me into her ear. And she relaxed. I let her go and she turned to face me, practically glowing with glee. She looked okay, safe now too. She grinned hugely at me. "I'm so glad to see you."

I laughed, disbelieving. Yeah, sure she was. But I couldn't help be flattered a bit at her words. Not that I'd ever let her see that.

I looked around ready to sneak past whoever was around when she said, "I'm so glad-"

"Got that." I said. She was practically bouncing in her seat with excitement. It was actually kinda amusing, as she always was in her own peculiar way. "Stop bouncing, Chloe. Before they notice."

She shook her head slightly. "They're gone. That's why-" but she cut herself off when she looked behind me and her grin faded. "Where's Simon?"

Oh, right. That's why she was happy to see me. Because I had Simon. And she knew seeing me would mean seeing Simon. I wasn't hurt by it, I sort of expected that. And I was glad she and Simon liked each other, that they made each other happy, but I don't know. I felt off about it right now.

"He's okay isn't he?" she asked stuttering. I nodded and relief flooded her face. She pulled out a small black pouch from her jeans. "I know he needs this. It was-"

"That's his backup." I cut her off. "He had another one in his pouch." How did she get it in the first place? I opened my mouth to ask her, but that wasn't important right now, what was important was that she was safe and we needed to get to Simon so I could have a guarantee. That would really relax me right about now.

"Oh. Right. Um, Good. So where's-"

"Around back." I informed her, already knowing where that question was going. "I smelled Tori so I thought it was a trap. And-"

She gasped and shot to her feet. "Tori! Her mom- The car- We have to warn her!"

I just stared at her. Okay, I really didn't see that coming. Had heard that correctly right? She did say _warn her_ as in warn _Tori_? "What?"

She took off and motioned for me to follow. She ran like lighting, so much so that for a short while, I had trouble keeping up. "Dammit! Chloe! Get back here!" I yelled as hushed as possible. But she didn't listen.

She slid into a small space, one that I could manage to fit into at all and I swore darkly under my breath. I managed to beat her after running all the way around the yard and grabbed her by her jacket collar, dangling her a few feet above the ground like a puppy. I always hated being carried like that as a pup. But seeing her like it now was very…entertaining. She glared.

"I know a better route. I've been here for two days checking things out as I waited for you." And it was true. I hadn't been sleeping well. So when Simon rested, I searched the area, hoping and preferring to stumble upon her resting somewhere, but since I hadn't, I was sure to make note of all the small areas that were safest to travel. I set her on her feet but was extra careful not to let go, in case she bolted again. "Now, what is this about Tori and her mom?"

She bounced up and down anxiously. "We don't have time. Just-Liz! We need Liz."

Okay, was I missing something again? "Liz is alive?"

She paused, nervous about continuing. "No, I mean…her ghost. I was right about her being dead. She's been helping me though, and we need her to scout the way."

I froze. After Chloe brought up the possibility of her being dead once, I guess I started to believe it. Or at least consider the possibility. But hearing her say it now, giving me the absolute okay that it was true, well, it was sad. I didn't really know Liz, but I still felt very sad for her because now she was dead. Probably murdered.

She slipped from my grip and dashed to a break in the hedge. _Dammit._ She slipped into a break in the hedge and took a peek on the other side. She was whistling to someone. I looked over the top and saw no one. What the heck was she doing? She made a few pathetic attempts to whistle. I sighed, laughing to myself at how tough the thought she was but how sad she was at whistling. I put two fingers in my mouth and sent out a piercing whistle. She rubbed her ear, like it had hurt her. I pushed her down to the ground and stuck my head over the top, to be sure no one had heard that whistle. Thankfully, no one had. She waited patiently, and finally I nodded to her. Giving her the okay to look. She stuck her head into the break in the hedge and said, "She's coming."

I'm assuming she meant Liz. Dead Liz. Because I didn't see anyone. I nodded and looked around, trying to be sure it was still safe.

"You wanted to lead. So lead. She'll catch up." She said, drawing my attention back to her.

I don't think so. No way. Not until I get an explanation for all this. Because right now, I was confused as hell. When I said nothing she starting walking. But I caught her sleeve. She looked back to me, confused. "I gotta know what I am walking into."

"Two Edison Group Guards discreetly patrolling the yard-"

Okay, I if I thought I was confused before, I was wrong. _Now _I was confused. "Edison Group?" what the hell is the Edison group.

"And Tori's mom. Plus the guy that shot you on Saturday night. But of all of them, Tori's mom is the one to watch."

"Tori's mom? Edison group? What the-"

She put her hand on my arm reassuringly. "Derek?

"What?"

She finally met my gaze, smiling halfheartedly. Something in her eyes made me feel off, but in a good way. Not quite sure what it was, but something inside me felt different. "Do you trust me?" she asked.

I didn't even hesitated. "Course."

"Then yes, I know you want details. But we don't have time. Not if Simon's back there and Tori's mom's on her way. She's a witch, and she's not afraid to use her spells. Good enough?"

No, nowhere near good enough. But what choice did I have? She was right? Simon needed us now. I looked around nervously. But we had to go. "Stay behind me." And we took off toward Simon.


	5. Chapter 5:Eavesdropping

Derek's POV:

When Chloe said we had to get Tori, she wasn't kidding. I thought it was supposed to be sarcasm or something honestly. But when Tori suddenly was found and joined the party, well, a serious reality shock hit me. We were in the alley where I'd told Simon to stay. Which, to my great dismay, he hadn't listened to.

"Well? Where is here?" Tori asked.

God, I never realized how annoying her voice was. "Huh. Must have broken his chain."

Tori just glared. Chloe stepped in before it got ugly. "He means Simon's a big boy and he's free to move around." She turned to me. "Can you track him?"

"Yeah." I crouch down, resting on my knee. I took a sniff at the air around, picking up Simon's trail very easily.

From behind me, I heard Tori whisper to Chloe, "Please tell me his isn't doing what I think he's doing."

I glared at her, Chloe I mean. This was not making me happy. "There had better be a good explanation for this." I said, looking at Tori.

"Not really." She mumbled.

I sighed heavily and stood up. "Stay here." I ordered.

I walked away and went to find Simon. As I walked around the corner, I was able to hear fairly well what was being said between Chloe and Tori. Tori was making fun of me, as usual. Saying something about how my being a werewolf was a good choice. "A creepy power for a creepy guy," was her exact words I believe.

To my absolute surprise, Chloe was defending me. Saying how I looked better, happier, now. Most likely from not having the stress of Lyle House get to me anymore. Why was Chloe defending me. Most girls didn't. most _people_ didn't. except for Simon and my father of course.

At that moment, the word "father" sent a wave of agonizing pain through me. My heart and head flooded with thought of my dad, and how much better life was before he went missing. I felt my heart aching and tears prickling in my eyes. _Dad…where are you?_

"_You know what would really help?...Deodorant." _

_Chloe cut Tori off there. "HE smelled fine. Don't start that. I'm sure he's wearing deodorant, and –for once– it's working. As for showers, they're a little hard to come by on the street, and we don't look much better."_

"_I'm just saying-"_

"_Do you think he doesn't know what you're saying? News Flash! He's not stupid."_

I had to admit. I was oddly offended by how Tori thought that of me. Chloe was right. I wasn't stupid. And for Tori to think I didn't realize she was saying rude thinks of me, well, it was offending to my intelligence. Not that it hurt as much as it would from Chloe or Simon. Considering the fact that Tori had about as much intelligence as a dying guppy, I don't feel as offended as I would a normal person.

I hadn't realized how I'd stopped right in the middle of the side alley, just listening in on their conversation. Not until Simon actually stepped out from the shadows, scaring the hell out of me.

"Shit! Simon, don't scare me like that."

He looked, well, confused. Like he was waiting for me to say, "Just kidding," but then he cleared his throat and muttered "Sorry, bro."

"Never mind, we have to get back to Chloe. She has a…a big surprise for you."

He smiled that smile, that single smile that he only ever got when he was with Chloe. A smile of true happiness. I hadn't seen that smile in a long time.

We snuck around and Simon snuck up behind Chloe, poking her in the shoulder. No surprise though that she jumped at his touch, and spun around to see him as he said, "Still jumpy I see." She grinned hugely. "Got my note I see."

She hardly noticed anyone, not even Tori who'd stood behind her, a nervous yet irritated look on her face. Chloe took the note out and waved it. Simon took the note and put it into her pocket before taking her hand and gazing into her eyes. I felt like a very private moment. To be honest though, it made me sick. I'm not one for all the lovey-dovey crap. I leave that to Simon.

Chloe looked between me and Simon, relief absolutely apparent in her eyes. "I'm really glad you found us." She said smiling.

Simon's lips went to her ear, and he started to say something. But he went rigid, looking past her at Tori. "Hey Simon." She said, partially sarcastic.

"What's she doing here?" he demanded.

I smirked. I would love to know the answer to that one myself. "Ask her. I'm not getting any answers." I said, pointing to Chloe.

She shrugged. "It's a long story."

Can't be that long… "Then it will have to wait. We need to get away from here."

"Is everything okay?" he whispered to her.

Of course, Tori had to chime in. "No, I kidnapped her and forced her to escape with me. I've been using her as a human shield against those guys with guns. And I was just about to strangle her and leave her body to throw them off my trail. But you showed up and foiled my evil plans. Lucky for you, though. You get to rescue poor little Chloe again and win her undying gratitude."

I fought the urge to laugh and bit my tongue from saying, "Yeah, I'm actually the one stuck with the rescue job."

Simon smiled. "Undying gratitude? Cool. Does that come with eternal servitude? If so, I like my eggs sunny side up."

She grinned up at him and replied with an "I'll remember that."

I stepped in and cut them all off before the banter and cute nickname started up. "Enough yapping. Move out."


	6. Chapter 6:More Baggage

Derek's POV:

I was more than a little relieved that we managed to get away swiftly and silently. We were able to sneak away entirely undetected. I had everyone go into the commercial district. It was filled with mostly teenagers, so we really didn't stick out there. We fit in without question. Chloe had this smile on her face, almost like an "Aha!" moment look. She knew what it was smart to be here too.

"I know you guys love this cloak-and-dagger stuff, but can we grab a taxi?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Chloe cleared her throat and added, "A cab would be risky. But if there were a shorter route to where we're going, my feet would really appreciate it."

I stopped and turned to respond to her, but Chloe rammed right into my back. Okay, I'll admit it, was kinda my fault. I'd been constantly yelling at her to keep up but in her trying to do so, she kept stepping on the back of my shoes. Muttering "sorry" every single time. More times than I can count.

"We're almost there," Simon said reassuringly.

I looked over my shoulder as I kept walking. Simon was standing close beside Chloe, almost creating a blockade around her, as I had been. We both knew it was best. Tori was here, and the "Edison Group", whatever they were, were out there looking for us. Probably ready to kill us. Chloe and Simon were my main concern right now. Oddly enough.

Yes, I know at first Chloe was just my ticket to getting Simon out of Lyle house. A damsel in distress just asking for a hero. And that's what Simon was. It helped him get out. But my feelings changed for her the minute she risked her life by staying behind to help me, staying by my side while I went through my partial change. I know how hard that probably was watching. It was gross and scary, and I'm sure it bothered her. But she stayed beside me every second. And for that I was eternally grateful. I just hadn't voiced that yet.

So now, I was watching over her, as much as I was Simon. I cared about her safety as much as mine or Simon's.

Something in the corner of my eye caught my attention and made me jolt to a stop. Thankfully, Chloe hadn't rammed into me. Simon stopped and stared at me. "What's wrong bro?"

My eyes went huge with surprise and I waved them forward. "Nothing, keep going. I'll catch up in a second."

Chloe watched me, a curious and yet suspicious look on her face, but followed Tori and Simon as they started up walking away. When they were farther out of sight, I took a step forward to look and see if I was seeing this right. A newspaper machine with a very interesting add on the front page. _**Local Girl Missing**_was the headline at the top, a very small writing, but still the picture on the side screamed at me. It wasn't the headlines, but it was just as bad. I yanked the door and grabbed a paper, quickly flipping to the page with the article. Nothing big, just a quarter page article. _"Local student Chloe Saunders goes missing. Her distraught father says that Lyle House, the group home for troubled teenagers that she was currently attending, had called late yesterday evening with news that she was gone. No word yet as to the possibility of foul play being a part of this situation. But the father said 'Chloe wouldn't run away. She's a good girl. It was a mistake putting her in that home in the first place.' Local police are questioning neighbors and friends. All with similar comments. 'I just want my Chloe back' the father stated yesterday in an interview with police." _

It listed a phone number beside the article saying to call with any info on her whereabouts. And above the number was a very recent picture, from what I could tell, of Chloe. She had no red streaks in her hair, and she looked young. But there was something in that face, in her eyes, and she looked exactly as she had now. I strangled the paper in my hands, pissed beyond belief. Shit, I knew this would happen. They're covering their mistakes with a lie of her running away.

The small article made me think that they wouldn't get too worried about it, the small article in a no name newspaper. Maybe it would be fine. I folded the paper up and slipped it into my back pocket before turning back to catch up with them. I nearly jumped when I saw Chloe standing behind me.

"Hey, what are you lookin' at?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. I thought I saw something on…my dad. I picture." Yeah, that lie worked. No need to tell her the truth and freak her out.

Her eyes went huge. "Really? Was it him? What did you see?"

"It wasn't him. I saw a picture in the paper, but it wasn't him. It was about stocks. Definitely not my dad. Let's keep going."

I smiled. "We'll find your dad. Promise."

Ah, Chloe. So sure of everything. I just nodded and nudged her forward. "Get moving. We'll talk about that later."

She smiled again but kept walking. We finally caught up with Tori and Simon, who were ignoring each other, obviously. Simon met my eyes, a guarded look in them. "What happened?" he mouthed. They girls walked ahead of us, and I passed him the paper discretely. He looked to the page and his eyes went huge. "Shit." He muttered to himself.

I nodded and took the paper, shoving it into my pocket, before going to the front of Chloe, and blocking her from view of most. Just in case someone else did see the paper, they'd not see her behind me or Simon. We made it about a half a mile before she started tripping on my heels again.

She stepped on my shoe again and groaned. "Okay, what is with the walking blockade?"

Damn, she noticed.

"There're protecting you. Shielding you from the big bad world." Tori said sarcastically.

That wasn't too far off. More so protecting her from Tori, but that didn't need to be said. Best to keep the peace as much as we could. Simon nor I said anything in response. We knew how bad things were, how much danger she was in with a "Missing Girl" article following her around. We just kept walking in silence, praying that we could get to the safe house quickly.


	7. Chapter 7:Discoveries that Kill

Derek's POV:

When we were still finally at the safe house Simon and I had picked, Chloe stayed behind to talk to, what I assume to be, the ghost of Liz. I didn't argue. It was safe enough. It was so deserted around here that not even gangbangers or homeless guys were here. Or in a block radius in general. Everyone waited at the inside of the door until finally came back. I wouldn't let them actually leave. Last thing we were doing was separating again.

They followed being me in a single file line. The one thing about winter in Buffalo, it gets dark really early. It was only about three right now, and it was pitch black in here. There was partial light outside, but nothing useful in this boarded up house. Now that the light of day was no longer helpful to us, and I'd forgotten the lanterns here, so we were walking in the dark. It was times like this that I appreciated my ability to see in the darkest of rooms.

After a while, Tori yelled at Chloe. "Come on, move. Oh, that's right, Chloe's afraid of the dark. Simon, you better hold her hand or-"

"Knock it off." He said. I stopped and turned to see her. She was looking around the dark anxiously, like she was looking for someone. "You okay?"

"There's… something here." She murmured. "I can feel it."

"Ghosts?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I feel like what I felt when I was in the crawl space at Lyle House."

"Shit." I muttered. The corpse in the back room. I hadn't thought about it. I knew it was there. I never put it together though. I just thought about the more recent rat corpses.

She looked at me. "What?"

"There's a body." Well I felt like an idiot.

"What?" Simon snapped. Tori shrieked.

"There's a dead body somewhere in here. I smelled it yesterday, after we'd settled in."

"And you didn't bother telling me?" Simon barked.

I glared. "It's a body. Long dead. Some homeless guy. It's a good place otherwise." Of course it was. It was warm enough, had a roof, and solid ground to do a makeshift bed or two. This was the best we'd get in our predicament. Or at this point in time it was.

He snorted. "Otherwise? A pitch-black hideaway filled with trash, dead bodies, and rats. You know how to pick 'em bro."

I wanted to laugh. He sure as hell didn't have a problem with it before. But now that there was a small problem, he wanted to play innocent. Not like him to be a jerk like that. Maybe it was to impress Chloe, but I had to admit, it pissed me off. Especially if that had impressed her, his "caring bravery". Total bullshit.

"R-rats?" she stuttered nervously.

"Great. She's scared of rats too." Tori added sarcastically. I swear, right about now, she was really making me want to smack her. She's lucky she was a girl.

"As long as I'm here, they're staying away." Another useful trait of the werewolf.

I watched Chloe. She was looking around the room nervously. Maybe this was a bad idea after all. "But I didn't think about the body. Chloe? Is it a problem?" As good a place as this was, having Chloe uncomfortable wasn't worth the trouble. And worse, having her risk raising it was even more unnecessary risk.

She hesitated, thinking it through. She looked at the three of us, or as best as she could in the darkness, and contemplated it. She saw they were tired, and cold, and scared. She wouldn't say no if it meant walking more, because she was too nice to do that to everyone. She looked back to me and shook her head. "As long as I don't try summoning Liz than I shouldn't raise this guy back to his body."

"But if it bothers you being near it… we should-"

But she cut Simon off. "I'm sure safe places aren't easy to find." She tried as hard as she could to smile. "It'll be a good experience. I need to learn to recognize the feeling."

"Oh, of course. Chloe's going to _learn_ from it. Do you ever quit? You're like the perky little Energizer bunny-"

Simon was ready to snap at her but I cut in, nudging them forward. "Knock it off. Chloe, we'll stay here. But if gets too uncomfortable, let me know. I'll find us somewhere else."

She sighed and nodded, walking along as well. For the first time ever, I actually agreed with Tori. Chloe was too perky for her own good. She tried to embrace everything as a learning experience; she didn't cut herself off when she knew she should. This was a bad idea, I could feel it, but what could I do? She'd said it was fine. I knew I'd be keeping a close eye on her to be sure though.

I led them to the back room, where there were no windows. It was fairly small, but it was roomy enough that we could all stretch out and sleep comfortably. I turned on one of the lanterns we'd bought and settled it in the center of the crates we'd set up for seats.

Chloe and Tori looked around at the space. "So much better than we slept yesterday."

Tori nodded. "I actually agree. It's definitely no Holiday Inn, but I guess it will make due."

I just rolled my eyes and grabbed the granola bars I had in my pocket. I felt bad for admitting it, but I stole them from the concession stand we passed on the way back here. I passed one to Chloe, looking over her expression to see if she was truly suffering from being here or not. She smiled and took a small bite.

"Oh right. You must be starving." Simon reached into his pockets. "I can offer you one bruised apple or one brown banana. Convenience stores aren't the best places to buy fruit. As I keep telling someone."

I smirked as he jokingly glared. "Better than these. For you anyway, Simon." I said as I gave Tori as bar as well, kinda teasing Simon about how he couldn't have one but Tori could. He frowned.

"Because you aren't supposed to have those, are you?" Chloe asked. Remembrance crossed her face and she dug through her jacket pocket. "Which reminds me…" she held up his insulin pouch. "Derek said you had a backup."

"So my dark secret is out." He teased.

She frowned. "I didn't know it was a secret."

"Not really. Just not something I advertise." Which was true. He hated that dad and I made a big issue out of it. But he had a habit of messing his numbers up. So he kinda forced it upon himself.

"Backup?" Tori snapped. "You mean he didn't need that?"

"Apparently not."

Tori groaned and rolled her eyes. Simon stared at the two of them, unbelievably confused. Than it clicked in his head. "You guys though…"

"That if you didn't get your medicine in the next twenty four house, you'd be dead? Not exactly. But close. You know the old 'upping the ante with a fatal disease that needs medication' twist." Chloe shrugged. "Apparently, it still works."

I tried not to smile at their ability to be fooled by such ridiculous tricks. Simon chuckled. "Kind of a letdown, then, huh?"

"No kidding. Here we are, expecting to find you minutes from death. Look at you, not even gasping."

"All right, then. Emergency medical situation, take two." He shot up to his feel and staggered, before pretending to keel over. I tried no to laugh along with Chloe. He lifted his head weakly. "Chloe? Is that you?" he faked a cough. "Do you have my insulin?"

She smiled and rolled her eyes before putting the pouch in his outstretched hand.

"You saved my life. How can I ever repay you?"

"Undying servitude sounds good. I like my eggs scrambled."

Oh Christ, now here came the cheesy flirty crap again.

He held up an apple to her. "Would you settle for a bruised apple?"

To my surprise, she laughed. Tori and I exchanged a look, and we both rolled our eyes in utter annoyance. I was happy they were finding time to joke around and make the best of this situation, but…ugh. It was quite annoying. Simon never really did this flirting stuff in front of me. Now it was always in front of me, so I was getting quite tired of it fast.

"You guys are weird." Tori said.

Simon stood up and settled himself on a crate beside Chloe. "That's right, we're totally weird and completely uncool. You're popularity is plummeting by being near us. So why don't you just-"

I quickly cut that off. "Chloe?" she looked up to me. I didn't know what to say. I just wanted them to shut up. Then I remembered she was hurt. And worry flooded over me. "How's your arm?"

"Her-?" he swore under his breath, mutter in annoyance. "Way to keep showing me up Derek. First food and, now, her arm." He looked back to her. "How is it?"

"Fine, all stitched up and bandaged." She said confidently.

"We should take a look." Sure she may have done something to it, but to be stitched up and everything already…not gonna happen on the streets.

Simon helped her carefully pull off her jacket and I noticed something. She had no outer wear to keep her warm besides that thin little jacket. Nothing suitable for these conditions, maybe a walk in spring, if that. "Is that all you're wearing? Where's your sweater?" I could have worn she had a sweater with her backpack before. Where was that anyway?

"They didn't give us a chance to grab anything." Who was 'they'? "I have money. I'll buy one."

"Two." Simon added. "It gets freezing after the sun goes down. You must have been a popsicle last night."

Of course, she shrugged it off. "I had other things on my mind."

"Her aunt and Rae." Tori said.

_Uh-oh. Shit. What happened? _"We'll get to that. There's a lot to catch up on. You guys start." Chloe said, dismissing the subject.

Damn, sounds like it wasn't good. Chloe's eyes looked pained and glassed over. Something happened. Were they dead? Hurt? Worse? I sighed and nodded.

"First we look at your arm." Simon nodded in agreement and moved over to let me sit beside her, looking over the bandage of her cut. It was neatly bandaged, no sign it was still bleeding. I didn't want to open the bandage and risk pealing back the stitches, or whatever. I'd have to pick up a small first aid kit before I messed with it. "This looks professionally wrapped. It looks okay for now. I'll but something to keep it under control. A small first aid kit for you."

I touched the wrap gently and she winced. I quickly pulled back my hand. "Sorry. It's still a little sensitive."

I nodded and let go of her arm entirely. "We won't mess with it for now. I'll check it in the morning."

She nodded and I helped her slip her jacket back on carefully, trying not to hurt her again. Simon settled himself beside her again and I returned to my seat. "Back to the beginning then. The last time we saw you, you were running for the warehouse with Rae. Our distractions worked, and we got away. But we couldn't go back for a while. In case they were watching. When we got there, you guys were gone."

"Rae convinced me to leave. She…said stuff. She got me to leave to get my arm checked by aunt Lauren. And then…" she cut herself off, drifting into a detached state, as if she were recalling a painful memory. It pained me to see her so upset.

**(To the fanatics that actually notice if I say or put something wrong in this next scene…my bad. I'm working from memory. It has been a long time since I read the first book unfortunately. And I can't afford to pick up a new copy of the book that my dogs destroyed last year. So I'm shooting in the dark with what I can remember. I think I remember most of it. But if I get it wrong, just warning now…my bad. I'll try as best I can to not chop up the storyline too badly.)**

I watched her nervously, knowing it was probably bad. "What happened, Chloe?"

She took a deep breath and composed herself before jumping into the story. "Well, Rae got me to go. So I went to see Aunt Lauren. And at first it seemed like a good idea, she stitched up my arm really well and she gave me morphine. Or so she says, because when I kinda passed out and woke up in this like, strange hotel room. But when I tried to leave the room, I saw there were no freaking handles. It was like a painted up padded cell. Only thing missing was the straight jacket."

"What the hell? Where were you?" Simon freaked.

She gave me a knowing look, like I knew the answer to his question. "The Edison Group?"

She nodded and continued. "They're the brains of Lyle House. They tried to 'rehabilitate' kids, hopefully get some control of their powers, or diffuse them of those powers. I'm still kinda confused about that. Dr. Davidoff, you guys remember him?" everyone gave a small nod. "He runs the operation. He said that because Lyle House failed, he wanted to make it up to us, by letting us get basically anything we want."

Tori nodded in agreement. "That's for damn sure. They set up a game room for us, and made our rooms really nice. Well, minus the never being allowed to leave without permission and escort part. But they were bending over backwards to make us happy because of what happened with Lyle House."

"Yeah, that's right. Davidoff took me on a tour. He called it a 'one stop tour'. It was just the security room. It looked like a makeshift. Very quickly set up. But it showed me everything in the facility, every angle the cameras hit, and every room that was guarded. The guy kinda signed out exit slips with that one. I got some help and it was perfect. Or it would have been. I just took the easier route when-"

I held up my hand to silence her. "Help from whom?"

She froze. "A…ghost."

Okay, that was kinda believable. But something in her eyes said that the ghost part was total bullshit."

"Ghost of who?"

"Someone that was part of the Lyle House experiments, I'm not too sure. I didn't really take the help, or didn't want to until necessary. Tori stepped in and she made our plans easier."

"I did?" Tori looked as confused as we did.

Chloe nodded. "Trust me. I wasn't looking forward to this girl's help. But you helping me made it so much simpler. And less messy. Anyway, so when Davidoff and Tori's mom came in saying that we needed to get Simon's insulin to him, she to him, we all left to find you. But it got tricky."

Tori took over the rest of the story. "Yeah, my mom wouldn't let Chloe go with her aunt. She took the one thing that Chloe had to get in touch with Liz, that green hoodie of Liz's. I think that's kinda my fault. I didn't realize this stuff with Liz was real. That she was dead. I still don't believe it, but I can't help but wonder now."

My eyes went huge with surprise. "Tell me I heard that wrong. Did Tori just admit she did something wrong?"

Simon laughed. "The gates of hell have flooded over, the world is coming to an end."

Tori rolled her eyes and flipped us each off with one of her tiny hands. "Screw you. Anyway, do you want to hear the rest of the story or no?" we both went silent. "Right, now, as I was saying. Chloe and my mom battled it out. Liz gave her a hand by whacking my mom a few times, or trying to. Mom is too smart to not notice even when someone invisible is telling her to go to hell. But not before telling Chloe some really stupid shit. Really ignorant shit."

"What did she say?" Simon asked. "That she liked Chloe better, or something?"

Tori stayed silent. Not making eye contact, her eyes glued to the floor. She had said something along those lines. I hated Tori, more than anyone could imagine. But that's just cruel to say to your own daughter. I can't imagine how I'd feel if dad had said something like that to me, or to Simon. "What she said doesn't matter."

Chloe watched me, wondering if my words were supposed to be degrading to Tori, or helpful. When she decided, she gave me a thankful look and nodded. "That's right. Anyway, we got away, and it turns out that Aunt Lauren let Tori escape, let us get a head start. She gave me this big speech about how she wanted to make amends for siding with them in the first place." she pulled stood up and pulled a note out of her back pocket before sitting down. "She gave me a note and money. An explanatory note."

"What did it say?"

Chloe seemed hesitant to answer, and now I regretted asking. It was a personal note, but if it explained what had happened or what the Edison group was, than it would help. Finally, she answered. "It said that my mom wasn't a necromancer, but she would most likely give the gene to her kid. And how badly she wanted a kid so she risked it. I… I had an uncle, my mom's twin, that was a necromancer. It drove him crazy. Enough to kill himself, or so they say. They think a ghost made him take the nose dive." She looked tense, scared or upset and not willing to continue.

"Chloe," she met my eyes. "Did it say anything about the Edison Group's purpose?"

She nodded, but it was uncertain. "She said that a friend gave my mom info on the group, saying they did tests that determined if kids had a likelihood of being supernatural, and they gave my mom words of encouragement, saying they couldn't take the chance away, but they could help me control it. So my mom agreed to let them, so she could have me and not have what happen to my uncle happen to me too. She basically handed me over to their control to do tests on me." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, forcing herself to continue. "She hadn't known at the time that they were crazy. Nor had Aunt Lauren. And now that my life was in danger, Aunt Lauren saw their true nature. So she helped us escape. She only joined because this gave her a chance to help something she cared for, supernatural like my uncle. And still do the doctor thing that she loved doing. So she joined the team when I was little. Only now does she see that she possibly signed her death certificate doing that."

"What do you mean signed her own death certificate?" Simon asked.

"When we were escaping, Aunt Lauren gave us a head start, but before we really got anywhere, Tori's mom hit her with a spell and I think…I think it killed Aunt Lauren. I didn't have time to stop and look at her, but there was blood. Tori said to keep running. So I did. I just left her there to die."

A few tears slid down Chloe's cheek. Simon reached out to comfort her but she pulled away. He looked so hurt. But he didn't let it show more than a second.

I didn't know what to say. What words could comfort her after thinking that? She looked so broken down and upset anything I said would probably make it worse. "Uh, well, I doubt that happened. She was hurt, yes. But your aunt is too important to them. They wouldn't let Tori's mother kill her. I'm sure she's fine. You haven't seen a ghost have you?" Chloe shook her head, taking my words in. "Then I'm sure your aunt is fine. Don't worry."

She gave me a halfhearted smile and nodded. "You're right…but for all I know she could be another person added to that list of victims I saw."

That sparked my interests. "What list?"

"Yeah, what list?" Tori asked.

She composed herself and continued. "Well, when Davidoff took me on that tour, he took me to his office, let me see a book about necromancy. Only a few in existence. I didn't really look at it. When he walked out for a minute, I looked on his computer and saw a file. _The Genesis Project_,that's what we are. Just an experimental group to them. Liz was listed a terminated…" Tori's face went green, and she look like she wanted to be sick. Not that I could really blame her. "So were some kids named Amber and Brady. I don't remember the last names. Rae and Tori were listed as rehabilitation processing."

Tori snorted. "Bullshit."

I rolled my eyes and continued. "Anything else on that?"

"Simon wasn't on the list. Why?"

Simon exchanged a look with me. "I only am there because Derek is there. They think I'm not worth the effort I guess. I suppose that should be a good thing in this situation."

"Very good thing. Besides some kids named Peter and Mila, everyone else that left Lyle House was dead."

"We have to get Rae and Aunt Lauren out of there."

Tori scoffed. "Are you kidding? Rae is the one that ratted you guys out. Why the hell would you want to help her?"

"Whoa! Wait a second! Back that train up. What the hell? I thought she was one of us?"

Chloe glared at me. "She is, she just made a bad decision. Like Aunt Lauren. It was a mistake. Should we let her die for it?"

I fell silent. Maybe she was right. I can't believe I didn't see that. How could I not know? I risked letting her come because Chloe had me trust her. Note to self: _Don't listen to Chloe._


	8. Chapter 8:Private Chats

Chloe's POV:

After another awkward moment of silence, Derek stood up. "Chloe, can I speak to you alone a moment?"

I nodded. "Sure."

He walked ahead and let me to a spot in the next room before turning to look at me. "There's stuff you're leaving out. That ghost trying to help you thing sounded fake. What really happened?"

Dammit Derek. _Do you always have to be so observant?_ I sighed and smiled. "There really is no getting past you is there?"

He smirked the slightest bit. "Not really, no." he grabbed a crate and slid it over to sit on. "Explain."

I found a crate and sat down. "She wasn't a ghost, yes. But there was someone. A…half demon or something like that. Ever heard of them?"

He thought about it a second. "I think so. I used to hear them talk about stuff like that. So, it's possible I might know it and just don't remember."

"Well, she said she was one. She said if I set her free she'd help me."

"Chloe, are you crazy? You don't trust random people like that? Especially things with the word 'demon' in them. Kids learn that in first grade, maybe younger. It's just common sense. Tell me you didn't set this girl free."

I glared at him. How stupid did he think I was? "No! I didn't. I'm not a kid Derek; I know not to trust people like that."

He stayed silent a moment. "Right. Sorry…Is Rae really the one that ratted us out?"

It pained me to have to admit it. "Yes." I whispered. And that set him off.

"I can't believe I let you talk me into letting her come along. I knew it was a bad idea to take more than the necessary people. I shouldn't have listened to you."

"Well you did! So who's the bigger idiot here?" I hollered.

He glared at me. "You're right. I am. I knew better than to let myself be talked into some stupid shit like that."

I stood up. "Well, than that sucks. But it's too late now."

I started to walk away but he caught my arm and I winced. "Sorry…" he released my arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. This is all just really complicated. I'm just trying to look out for everyone. I'm sorry."

I sighed and nodded. "Understandable."

"Sit down, please?" he pleaded with his eyes. To be ironic enough, it was a puppy dog face that could put even the cutest child to shame. Damn that werewolf gene.

I fought the urge to smile and took a seat. "What else is there to discuss?"

He watched me, measuring my expression carefully. "Are you really okay with being here? If it bothers you being here, we'll go. Really."

I smiled. "Thanks, but I'm not uprooting everyone. It's safe and warmer here. Better than any alley. I'm fine."

"Chloe…really…"

I pat his knee reassuringly. "It's fine, Derek. I love the worry. It's nice to see you act nice for a change rather than scowling, emo, werewolf boy. But, it's fine. We're staying."

He smiled the slightest bit and nodded. "Fine. If that should change though, tell me. Last thing we need is for you to resurrect someone by accident and he goes crazy on us."

I laughed. "That's true. It's fine. First sign that I can't handle it, I'll come running to you with a warning."

He nodded and stood up. "Oh, one more thing…Did Tori really help you?"

I didn't hesitate to nod. "Yes, she did. So be nice."

He glared and walked out. I quickly followed after him, afraid to stay in the room by myself.

**A/N:Brief and kinda boring I'm sure, but at least its something. It will get much better. I'll try updating again soon. I've been so swamped with summer school work that I have hardly had time to eat, let alone write a few entries. Should get a chapter or two done soon. THANKS! 3 R&R…**


	9. Chapter 9:Unwelcome Visitor

**A/N: OMG I AM SOOO SORRY FOR NOT POSTING FOR LIKE FIFTY MILLION YEARS! It's been so hectic for the past few months, this on again/off again stuff with my boyfriend, his proposal, college preparations, school, clubs, family/pets, you know it and it's probably gotten in the way. But I definitely intend to start this fanfiction up again. As with the other fanfiction for Morganville Vampires I let die. **

**Just a warning now, the chaos has yet to quite die, so the updates will be a bit on the "slow side", but only within a few weeks of each other, most of the time. So hopefully you can all bear with me, and forgive me for my lack of order and scheduling regularity. Hopefully I can manage to find some balance between this, Mishaps (my Powerpuff Girl fanfic), and Morganville Vampires.**

**Well, again, if anyone reads this after all this time then I love you guys, for bearing with me. (: ON WITH THE SHOW! **

Derek's POV:

Chloe followed behind me into the main room where Simon and Tori had been. It was not unsurprising to me when my ears caught the sound of their voices still discussing what Chloe had said. "So Brady and Liz are dead." Simon clarified to himself. "And I guess, that other girl-the one who was shipped out earlier-"

"Amber. Her name was amber." Tori added, not easily concealing she had been more than a little disgruntled.

Chloe nodded in conformation as she settled herself once again beside Simon. "She was on the list. All three of them."

There was a very awkward moment of silence before Chloe finally stated without making eye contact with anyone, "Rae and Aunt Lauren are still there." She looked up to me, knowing I'd be one the that would make or break any major life threatening decisions such as rescue missions. "I know Rae betrayed us, and my aunt was one of them. But I…I need to get them out." There was a look in her eyes, one of those lost puppy looks being concealed poorly by a look of strength as she glanced between the faces of everyone else. "I don't expect any help with that-"

"No, you're right. Rae screwed up, but she sure doesn't deserve to die for it." The way Simon was quick to jump the gun and volunteer to help her with such a dangerous mission like this was a bit ridiculous. We'd just escaped danger, and now they wanted to run back into it?

"We can't rescue them alone." Chloe snuck a peak at me from under her eye lashes as she spoke. I couldn't easily overlook the longing look in her eyes, praying that I'd go along with this. It was such a genuine look of concern for her friend and aunt that it was intimidating even to me. She practically willed me to go along with it. I couldn't seem to help but simply nodded in agreement.

Her face fell. Had she thought I was agreeing to us needing help? Well, to be honest, I did think that. We _were_ just kids. We couldn't fight the Edison Group on our own. But we didn't have any other options, did we?

"Once we find your dad, I want to go back. I guess now we know why he took you guys and ran."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Because he decided that genetically engineering his own son hadn't been such a bright idea after all?" The sarcasm in Simon's voice bothered me more than a little. Dad had done it to save him. _To help him_. Simon had always understood that.

I can't blame him though. To find out your dad put you in an experiment where they're changing the very fabric of what you are, down to you very DNA structure? It's probably hard. It would make me feel like dad had given up hope on me… is that how Simon felt? Like he'd been given up on?

"He tried to do the right thing," Chloe added generously. "They thought it would make our lives easier. The Edison Group sold them this dream, and when it started to go wrong, your dad got out. Aunt Lauren tried, too." Her hands went into her pockets, probably cradling the letter from her aunt. "Just too late." She murmured.

"And then there are those of us whose parents never regretted it. Whose mothers have turned out to be total evil bitches." Tori said, her snippy and sarcastic tone filling the air. To be fair, Tori's mom was an evil bitch, there was no doubt about that. Then again, with a daughter like Tori, who could blame her for going rouge. "But hey, at least now no one can say I don't come by it honestly."

Chloe and Simon watched her, wondering if she would look even the least bit guilty about saying such things. She never did. The two watched as she merely took out the last piece of her energy bar and ate it. "I don't buy this crap about us being failures, though. They wanted stronger supernaturals. That's what we are. They just need to teach us how to control it."

"You go back and tell them that." Simon replied, his tone a little more sarcastic then necessary.

"What about you? Your powers work fine. You didn't even get counseling at Lyle House."

"Simon isn't on the list." Chloe added. "They consider him a success."

"Whatever that mean…" Simon shifted awkwardly in his seat, definitely not looking like he believed he was a success after seeing what we'd been through this week. "The experiments so-called success seems to have weaker powers, but maybe they just haven't kicked in yet. When they do, we could have the same problems." The way he beat himself for being less powerful than Tori, or for not having the same shitty baggage over his shoulders like us was disheartening, and it made me feel guilty because he'd been feeling like that quite often. Since shortly before Chloe came to Lyle House. But being that I was never good with words, I was never able to comfort him or make him feel better without sounding like an absolute dumbass, or even just an ass. Lately, Chloe's being able to console him was one of the reasons I was thrilled that she had been put in here to begin with.

Tori nodded in agreement with Simon's words. "Ticking time bombs."

Tori's words sent a flash of light to Chloe's eyes. Like she'd remembered something important relating to her statement. Whatever it was, being that she had yet to say it aloud, made me wonder if it had to do with the ghost thing she mentioned.

"My dad will fill in the blanks."

"Great. We can save Chloe's aunt and Rae and all our questions answered…just as soon as you find your missing dad." Tori smirked, throwing a nasty glare at Simon. "How's that going." She looked around the dark room. "Not so well, I see."

Simon's eyes grew dark, anger flaring quickly. But he blinked and managed to gain control of himself. "We're working on it."

"How?" she pressed.

Shit, she always had to be the little instigator. My turn to jump in and break it up. "Later. Right now we need to get Chloe warmer clothes-"

"Chloe, Chloe, Chloe. Stop worrying about poor little Chloe. She hasn't frozen yet." She snapped. Idiotically, she felt the need to glare at _me_ before looking back to Simon. "What about your dad? Any clues? Hints?"

"Not yet."

"So what have you been doing the last two days?"

His anger sparked once more. But this time, he didn't hold back. He shot to his feet so fast that Tori shrank back. "We've spent every waking minute on them on three things: surviving, finding Chloe, and finding our dad. What have you been doing?"

"I was locked up." She bitched.

"So? That didn't stop Chloe. What do you have to add, Tori? Did you find out _anything_? Or just piggyback on her escape?"

"Okay. Tori helped me. Without her-"

Tori glared over at Chloe. "Don't you defend me, Chloe Saunders."

There was a quick moment of silence before Simon finally sat back down in his seat. When I was positive they were done yelling, I calmly said, "Where can we take you, Tori? To a grandparent? Friend? You're out now and you're safe. So I'm sure there is someplace you'd rather be."

"No." she said dismissively.

Ha, screw this. I was not putting up with this girl here. This ridiculous, incessant brat. I admired Chloe for being chivalrous and helping her, but bringing her _here_ was the wrong move. _Very wrong move._

Chloe opened her mouth, as if she would speak, but something in the look Tori gave her shut her up. What was Chloe not telling me _now_? Whatever, Tori wasn't my concern. Simon and Chloe were, and that was all I was taking care of. I wanted Tori gone.

"She doesn't have any place to go. Like me." Chloe pleaded to me with her eyes, begging me to let her stay. I wasn't falling for that shit. No way in hell would I let her bat those long eye lashes of hers and trick me into letting her hang about. Not as long as I was alive.

"There must be someone. Maybe not in Buffalo, but we'll buy you a bus ticket_._" _I'll buy her a plane ticket to Antarctica if it gets her out of here._

"Preferably one leaving in the next hour? Tori said sarcastically. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm joining your little gang of baby heroes on the quest to find Superdad."

I looked over to Simon. From the glint in his eye, I could sense he felt exactly as I had. No fucking way in hell that was happing. "No," I replied darkly.

"No? Excuse me, it was _Rae_ who betrayed you guys. Not me. I helped Chloe."

_Ha! Yeah, and my name is Annie Oakley. Bullshit_. "And was it Rae that tormented her at Lyle House?"

"Tormented?" A derisive snort. "I didn't-"

"You did everything you could to get Chloe kicked out." Simon said. "And when that didn't work, you tried to kill her."

"Kill her?" Tori's went rigid. "I'm not my mother. Don't you dare accuse-"

My temper flared a bit. I hadn't meant to snap the way I did, but seeing as how it was Tori, I didn't feel really any remorse over it. "You lured her into the crawl space. Hit her over the head with a brick, bound and gagged her, and locked her in. did you even check to make sure she was okay? That you didn't crack her skull?"

Tori stuttered, unable to actually speak any real words. She was frozen in horror. The idea never crossed her mind. Of course it didn't. She was as bad as her mother.

"Derek," Chloe stepped in, trying to reason with me. "I don't think—"

"No, _she_ didn't think." I glared at Chloe, wondering how she could stand up for a girl like Tori. "She could have killed you with the brick, suffocated you with the gag, given you a heart attack from fright. And not to mention what would have happen if you hadn't gotten out of your bindings. It only takes a couple of days to die from dehydration."

Chloe went silent, clearly she wasn't thinking of those risks either.

"I would never have left Chloe to die. You can't accuse me of that."

I looked back to Tori, knowing she probably wanted to mean those words, but the look in her eyes made me think otherwise, made me _know_ otherwise.

"No, just of wanting her locked up in a mental hospital. And why? Because you didn't like her. Because she talked to a guy you _did_ like. Maybe you're not your mother, Tori. But what you are…" I caught a glimpse of Chloe. There was a sparkle in her eye, though not a positive one, as if she were on the brink of crying. It took all I had to not say it, so much so it was hard for even _me_ to force myself to do it. Chloe clearly wasn't happy about my yelling at Tori this way. I reevaluated my words as I glared at Tori. "I don't want it around."

Tori just stared at me, not angry, nor upset. But there was something her expression, an almost lost look in her eyes. And for the slightest second I felt…_sympathetic_ for her. But any compassion I felt melted fast when Simon said, "We don't trust you. We can't have someone along we don't trust."

"What if I'm okay with it?" I met Chloe's eyes, now hard and resilient. "If I feel safe with her…"

"You don't." I interrupted. "You won't kick her to the curb, though, because it's not the kind of person you are." Chloe was way too nice. A trait I rather admired about her, but not one that was particularly welcome at the present moment. I looked back to Tori, leaving Chloe's sentence hanging in the air. "But it's the kind of person I am. Chloe won't force you to leave because she'd feel horrible if anything happen to you. Me? I don't care. You brought it on yourself."

To my surprise, yet somehow not so surprisingly, Chloe glared at me. Even Simon fidgeted a bit, as if I were being a little bit harsh. He opened his mouth to speak, but Chloe beat him to it, her tone harsher than even I was. "Where is she going to go? She doesn't have any money, anyone she runs into will almost certainly call her parents."

"I don't care!" I snapped. I wasn't letting this girl stay anywhere near here a moment longer. She would most definitely hurt Chloe if it meant protecting herself. And on these streets? She would have to do a lot of that. No way.

I stunned myself that day. I'd been more defensive of Chloe, overreacting and being more overprotective of her than I had when Tori was being a sarcastic pain in the ass to Simon. I couldn't understand why.

"We can't do that. It's not right." Simon added.

"No…It's not right." She mumbled the last part to me under her breath. "Please."

"This is not up for negotiation. She's not coming."

Childishly, Chloe glowered at me. To my utter disbelief, my heart nearly stopped for a moment when I saw her stand up and brush off her jeans. "Come on, Tori."

Tori didn't hesitate to follow, as did Simon. Shit. This wasn't good. All I saw was Chloe, leading the pack to the door. Reflex seemed to be working against me. I quickly jumped to my feet and grabbed Chloe's arm, pulling her back. Her feet were even off the ground for a split second. I saw her wince, and I realized how big an idiot I'd been. It was her injured arm I had grabbed.

She winced more and tried to pry my hand off her arm. "Wrong one."

I quickly let go and took a small step back. It was too difficult to not notice the way her jaw was set, the determination in her blue eyes. She would leave if I didn't say yes. I could see that. And I didn't want her to leave. I need her here. She was the only reason Simon was happy, and I wanted him happy. I wanted her happy too, but…did it really need to make her happy accepting Tori into our group? I didn't know what to do.

I sighed, defeated. "Fine." Instantly, I glared over her shoulder at Tori. "Three conditions." I walked around Chloe, keeping her behind me as I stared Tori down, though she didn't seem too phased by it. "One, whatever your problem is with Chloe, get over it. Go after her again, you're gone."

"Understood," she said without sarcasm.

"Two, get over Simon. He's not interested."

She blushed for the slightest second but the color faded quickly from her cheeks. "I think I've figured that out. Number three?"

"Get over yourself." I looked back down to Chloe. "Happy?" I whispered.

She smiled and nodded up at me. "Thank you," she murmured back.

**A/N: Well, that's just a little something to get the story moving again. I'll try to post again within the next two weeks, at most. I hope this wasn't too horrible. I'm still trying to assimilate myself into the world of Chloe Saunders once more. I've been on a Powerpuff Girl kick for weeks, thanks to a friend of mine. Hopefully you all liked this; I'll appreciate any readers and reviews! Thanks for being so faithful! **

**TEAM DEREK SOUZA!**


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